Not-So-Superhuman
by Musicxlove11
Summary: Isabella Swan has a strange power: when her skin touches another's, she sees a vision of their death. And Bella's visions always come true. When new student Edward Cullen takes a strange interest in her, she's determined to keep him at a distance. Will she be able to stop her vision of his death from happening? And will she be able to resist his charms -even to save her own life?
1. Chapter 1

**1**

**Not-so-super Superpower**

_She stared into the bright light as it sped towards her. She was frozen in shock, unable to move even one step to save herself. _Move, stupid! _I shouted in my head but it did no good. It never did any good. The woman couldn't hear me. The train's horn sliced through the night as it drew closer, and the suddenness of it drew a loud scream from the woman's throat. I watched through her eyes as the train quickly closed the distance between them. And then it hit her, and I was sucked out of her body and thrown back into mine. _

I shuddered as I yanked my hand away from the lady standing in front of me. She'd dropped something and I'd picked it up for her. When she went to grab it from me, her eyes shining with gratitude, her fingers had brushed mine. Then, like I always did, I saw it. Her death.

I'd been having visions of people's deaths for as long as I could remember. I hadn't been able to understand what was happening when I was a kid but it had always scared the crap out of me. Since I saw the death as if it was me, I'd always thought I was seeing my own death. But it wasn't possible that I died in so many different ways. So, I'd eventually figured out that I was seeing someone else's death, but through their senses. It was like we were linked and I was experiencing it with them. I never felt any of their emotions as it was happening and I never felt any pain as whatever it was killed them, but it was terrifying just the same.

And what was even worse was that I couldn't even do anything to save the people from the deaths I'd seen. I could see the how. But I could never see the when, where or why. I was just expected to know exactly how they died but not have a single clue how to stop it. And I couldn't tell anyone. They'd think I was crazy. But I'm not. I've seen the way someone died and then days later seen it described in the paper.

When I was little, I'd only get visions sometimes. As I got older, they became more and more frequent. And now, at seventeen-years-old, I saw one every single time my skin came in contact with someone else's. Whether it was a hand touching mine or a slight brush of our shoulders, I saw a death. And I didn't only see freak accidents like when someone got hit by a train. I saw if someone got murdered or in natural disasters or even natural causes like old age. Once, in kindergarten, I'd been forced to shake hands with a classmate and I'd seen them die of old age. I know what you're thinking: _if you see it through their eyes, how do you know it was old age?_ Well, in that situation, I'd heard a doctor telling her she was surprisingly healthy for a ninety-eight year old.

Each vision seemed to take a year to me. In them, I only saw the part of their lives that I needed to before the death, and then it was over as soon as they died. So, you'd think people would notice when I randomly spaced out every time someone touched me, right? But it seems that even though they take forever to me, it actually only takes a second to see the whole thing. The only thing that people could see when I went into visions was my reaction when they were finished. Which is why I'd trained myself to not react at all. Now, I hold in my emotions until I get home every night, where I lock myself in my room and cry for hours. The only reason I even flinched when I'd seen that lady die was because it had caught me off guard and I hadn't been prepared.

* * *

**This is a story that I started back in 2011 that I've been sitting on for awhile. The chapters will be longer than this one. This was more just an introductory type of chapter, I guess. I hope you like it :D**

**As for a posting schedule, I can't promise anything. I have three jobs, go to school full time, and try to maintain a social life. But I will not abandon this story. I'm going to try for once every two weeks, but if I can't handle that, I promise it will be at least once a month. I'm sorry but it's the only commitment I can make right now. I'm hoping that over winter break I'll be able to pre-write more chapters so I can post them more frequently once the new year rolls around. I promise I will try. **

**Okay, I know everyone has been waiting for the sequel to Life On the Island. I _will _write it. I swear I will. I've written and rewritten the first chapter to it so many times it's insane. But I just can't seem to get it right. There are so many directions I can take it in, and I can't choose one yet. It may be unfair of me to ask, but I just need a little more time for that one. I'm thinking maybe stepping back from it for a while will help get rid of the writer's block, and help me figure out how I want that story to go. I'm so, so incredibly sorry about the wait, but it will happen. I promise. **

**This story is a little something I hope will make up for my embarrassingly long absence. I have chapter one finished so I'm hoping to post it sometime before Monday. **

**Thanks for reading, and leave me a review if you liked it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

**Oh Crap, This Can't Be Good**

Every weekday morning, I get ready for school, asking myself the same questions. What's the point? I mean, we all get up in the morning and go on with our days like every moment doesn't bring us closer to an inevitable finale. And murder, suicide, old age, natural disaster, accident. It doesn't matter. Death is scary and it's sad and it's going to happen to everyone. Every single damn person.

And this idea of reincarnation? Yeah, sure, I guess we can all be born again into another body of some sort. It's possible. But it ends the same way again! We die! So what's the point? Whenever I tried to answer that question for myself, I drew a blank. A big, depressing blank.

I get that some people believe that death is worth it if you live your life to the fullest and all that jazz. Makes sense if you really think about it, after all. But what I don't understand is that friends, boyfriends and girlfriends, kids, grandkids, pets, etc. They're all going to leave. Be it before or after you, they will. Everyone leaves eventually. And it hurts. It hurts really badly when they do. Trust me, I know.

Depressing truth, isn't it? But it makes it worse to deny it. Trust me again, I've tried that, too.

The day my story begins started off especially bad. Something, a dream I couldn't remember, had me in a really bad mood. Every little thing pissed me off to the point that I almost punched a hole in my wall. Well, another one. Then, to make matters worse, I couldn't find my other glove. In order to prevent myself from seeing the death of anyone at school, I wore gym shoes, jeans, long sleeve shirts, and gloves every single day. On this particular day, my right glove must have decided to walk away because it wasn't where I usually put it.

"Mr. Puffer!" I screamed, searching through the piles of clothes on my floor. My fat black cat waddled into the room, his devious green eyes twinkling with some secret I'd never know. Sometimes I wondered if I'd really want to know what he was thinking, or if I was better off remaining ignorant. "Do you know where my glove is?" I asked. He looked at me like I was speaking a different language (which, I guess, to him, I was) and did what he usually did – stretched his back high into the air, sucked in a bunch of breath so he looked even fatter than he already was, and then fell over onto his side. Mr. Puffer had a tendency to puff up like a blow fish and then collapse. It was the only way he could get comfortable enough to take a nap. I giggled and scratched his tiny head, smiling softly as he purred and rubbed his face more firmly against my fingers. He was my only friend in the world, and that's the way it was going to stay.

"Bella! Get your ass down here!" my mom shouted. I sighed and slung my backpack over my shoulder. Looked like I was going to have to keep my hands in my pocket all day long. It wasn't like I could only wear one glove either, so I had to leave the other one at home, too. "Damn it, Isabella! Move your ass!" I walked through the apartment and out of the house without looking at her.

You see, something most people didn't know about me was that my mother and I did not get along. At all. To sum it up, that was because I wasn't the perfect daughter she always wanted. She knew about what I saw. She was the only one I ever told besides my father. And she hated me for it. She thought it meant there was something wrong with me. I mean, there was, but it would have been nice for her to accept it and maybe help me through it so I didn't feel so alone. Instead of judging me, she could have told me everything was going to be okay, maybe hug me like good mothers did when their daughters were going through a difficult time. But no, my mom thought making me feel like shit over something that I couldn't control was the only way to parent.

So, on top of the whole _seeing people's deaths _thing,I had a shitty home situation.

Anyways, I was in a really bad mood when I got to school. Not that anyone noticed. I didn't have any friends, because usually being in any type of relationship calls for some type of physical contact, be it hugging a best friend or kissing a boyfriend. It was the way of the world. So I decided it was a better idea to be a loner throughout my high school years. And honestly, I preferred it because I didn't have to explain anything to _anyone. _It was awesome.

I walked down the halls with my hands tucked into my pockets since I didn't have my gloves. Just like they did most days, people whispered about me, either not caring or too stupid to realize I knew what they were talking about. Since I didn't talk to anyone and I always rejected the –very few- guys that asked me out, rumors spread throughout the school that there was something wrong with me. Usually hearing them cracked me up. Everyone believed I was either on drugs, too violent to be accepted into society, mentally unstable, or had some other variety of personal issues. If they only knew …

But the tone in the halls was different. Instead of being hushed and mellow, it was loud and excited and gossipy. I ignored my curiosity and went to my locker to grab my books. But of course, the entire cheerleading squad (I called them the pod squad – clever, right?) had to have their meeting at the locker three away from mine, where the squad captain was applying her lip gloss in the mirror hanging on the inside of the door.

"T! Did you hear there's a new kid starting today?" one of the cheerleaders squealed, fighting with the others for their queen's attention.

"Of course I did, Lauren. It's my job to know these things," Tanya replied. "His name is Edward Cullen, and he's gorgeous. But remember, girls, he's _mine._" The rest of the pod squad started whispering amongst themselves as I looked at Tanya, shocked. She thought she could call dibs on a new kid? What a bitch. She caught me looking at her in the mirror and narrowed her made-up eyes. "Got a problem, freak?" I rolled my eyes at her 'cleverness' and closed my locker before I made my way to first period Chemistry class, where my already crappy day got worse.

As Mr. Banner was explaining the lab we were doing after the bell rang, there was a timid knock on the door. I kept my head tilted back against the wall, my eyes closed, as someone opened the door and said quietly, "Um, excuse me. I'm new here." I sighed. Figured the new talk of the school would be in my class.

"Ah, yes, Edward," Mr. Banner said. "Class, this is Edward. He'll be joining in the lab today so help him when he needs it. Edward, you can go have a seat over by Bella." I didn't stir at my name, though I was pissed that now I had to share the table I'd had all to myself for the first half of the year. "Bella, raise your hand, so Edward knows who you are." I lazily raised my hand into the air without opening my eyes, and ignored the sound of the chair on the other side of the table moving.

You may be asking yourself, _could this poor girl's day get any worse?! _But just wait for it. It will.

After another ten minutes of Mr. Banner explaining the lab that was easy enough for a toddler to do, she told us to partner up with the person at our table and get started. I sighed and opened my eyes to look at my new lab partner. He could be considered good looking, I guess. His hair was an odd bronze color, seemingly a bunch of different shades of red and brown all rolled into one seriously fucked up head of hair. It also looked like someone went at his head with a vacuum cleaner, causing all his hair to stick up wildly in a bed-head like way. His eyes were dark green, like emeralds or foliage or something that I couldn't name, but even I had to admit they were gorgeous. He was looking at me unsmilingly, his eyebrow raised. "You okay?" he asked me. I sighed again.

"I'm fine. But let's get this stupid lab over with. Do you get what we're supposed to do?" He laughed and leaned forward onto his elbows.

"Are you serious?" I stared at him. "I learned this crap freshman year. Easy." I hid my relief as we got started. "Hand me that beaker, would you?" he asked me. I was distracted with reading the questions we had to answer on the lab report, so I handed him the beaker without looking. But I had forgotten I wasn't wearing gloves, so when his fingers brushed mine, I was sucked into a vision of his death.

_He was in a dark alley, breathing heavily, his vision blurry from tears. _Tears?_ He was staring at two men, both in black clothes with hoods over their heads. One just smiled at him, while the other pointed a gun at his chest, his finger already on the trigger. Something attempted to pull his gaze down to the ground in front of him but he refused to look. _What is that? _I wondered, wishing he'd just look down. "Want me to kill you like I killed your friend?" the thug with the gun asked. Finally, he looked down to see a body strewn out across the nasty ground in front of him. The body was slender, wearing a pair of dark jeans and a blue shirt with a red stain spreading across the front. Long brown hair was covering the face of whoever it was, but it didn't matter. He knew who it was. So did I. _It's me! _I screamed in my head, trying to get him to look back down when he met thug one and thug two's smug looks again. _

_ "Fine. Kill me. You've already taken the only thing I have to live for." With a vicious smile, thug one pulled the trigger on the gun. The bullet sped towards him and hit him square in the chest. I was sucked out of the vision and thrown back into my own body again. _

I gasped and scrambled away from the table, almost tripping over my chair in my haste to get away from Edward. He stared at me, his expression confused as I backed up even farther until I ran into another table. I clutched at my chest and looked down, expecting to see a bullet hole or blood. But all I saw was my dark purple sweatshirt. I looked back up at my lab partner, my eyes filling with terrified tears, before I turned and sprinted out of the room.

"Bella? Isabella Swan!" I ignored Mr. Banner and ran into the bathroom, hoping he'd let me stay here for the rest of the semester. I couldn't get the image of my bloody, lifeless body out of my head. How was I supposed to face Edward again? I didn't know if he caused my death or just witnessed it, but I wasn't too keen on finding out for real.

I buried my head in my hands and bit my tongue to hold back the tears. I'd seen countless deaths, most of them gruesome and cruel. But I'd never seen my own. I mean, I knew I was going to die just like everyone else, but I'd always hoped it'd be in my sleep or something. I never imagined I'd be shot by a man in an alley with the new kid as the only person who knew what had happened. That was the last thing I'd ever consider. But this was one death I could –and _would-_ prevent, even if it meant dropping out of school so I never had to see Edward's face again.

There was a soft knock on the door, and I lifted my head. I didn't understand why whoever it was didn't just come in –it was a _public _restroom, after all. I walked to the door and opened it slowly, but let it shut again when I saw that it was Edward at the door. Mr. Banner must have thought he'd done something to cause my mental breakdown, and, well, he sort of had. "Bella? What the hell just happened?" he asked me, pushing the door open a crack. I leaned my body against it and slid down so I was sitting down on the floor, holding my knees to my chest. "Bella." He pushed on the door, but it didn't budge with the weight of my body against it. I'm sure he could have forced it open if he'd wanted to, but instead I heard what sounded like him sitting down against the other side of the door, so the wood was the only thing separating our backs.

Edward didn't say anything for a couple minutes, and I worked to control my breathing. Once I did, I leaned my head back against the wood and closed my eyes as tight as I could. "Go away!" I finally shouted through the door, upset beyond comprehension. And it wasn't like anything he had to say would make it any better. I held my breath for his response.

"Not going to happen, partner," he said. "Not until you talk to me."

"I'm not coming out until you leave!" I said angrily.

"And I'm not leaving until you come out. Looks like we've come to an impasse." I sighed and opened my eyes, trying to come up with a plan. The door was the only way out of the bathroom; there wasn't a back door or any windows I could crawl through. And the bell was going to ring in twenty minutes, which meant the bathroom was going to fill up with girls trying to fix their make-up and gossip without the chance of being overheard. I definitely didn't want to be sitting on the floor when they flooded in.

While I tried to think of an escape plan, I stalled. "Why did Mr. Banner send _you_?" I asked. I heard him shifting his weight against the door, which pushed me a couple of inches forward.

"We're lab partners. He thought I might know what the hell's wrong with you." I gritted my teeth and stood up, whirling around so I could grab the door handle. I pulled it open quickly and got a weird sense of pleasure at watching Edward tip backwards into the bathroom until he was laying on his back, looking up at me.

"You don't care what's wrong with me. No one does." I leaned down and sat on my ankles so I was closer to him, and narrowed my eyes. "And trust me when I say, if I told you what was wrong with me, you'd run like hell." I stood back up and stepped over him so I could walk down the hall. Instead of going back to class, I went towards the doors leading out into the courtyard separating the science wing of the school from the other buildings. I ignored the sound of Edward cursing as he stood up and the sound of his footsteps as he ran to catch up with me. He spun around and stopped in front of me, expecting me to stop so I didn't run into him. Instead, I stepped passed him and kept walking.

"Try me!" he said, matching my pace. His voice was angry and demanding, but I acted like he wasn't even there. When he realized I had no intentions of answering, he wrapped his fingers around my arm and pulled me to a stop. "Damn it, Bella, tell me what the hell happened. I think I have a right to know." I ripped my arm out of his grasp and stepped away.

"Don't _ever _touch me again," I growled. He held his hands up.

"Fine, you have a problem with physical contact. I get it. I won't touch you. But you owe me an explanation."

"Whatever. I don't owe you anything," I replied. _Considering you watched me get shot and apparently didn't do a damn thing about it, _I added in my head.

"Yeah, I think you do. Tell me why you ran out of Chemistry like a bat out of hell." He crossed his arms over his chest and stared me down, his dark eyes filled with anger. I exhaled loudly and decided I'd give him half of the truth, just enough to push him away so he'd leave me alone.

"I ran," I said, mirroring his pose with my arms crossed over my chest, "because you touched me." He snorted and stepped closer to me.

"Oh please. That's a bullshit explanation and you know it. Why don't you try again and tell me the real reason." I gritted my teeth again and resisted the urge to punch him in the face. I was sure my bare knuckles against his jaw would not only hurt me, but show me the vision again.

"Don't hold your breath, because that's all the explanation you're getting from me." I walked passed him, being sure not to let any of my skin touch his. I was hoping that I'd never have to see that vision, ever again. I mean, what was the point of me seeing a vision of something that I wasn't going to let happen? Besides, I didn't need to see it again . . . I remembered every single little detail.

I remembered the cold air against his skin, the smell of garbage and cat pee from the alley, the vicious looks on the thugs faces. The outfit I'd been wearing as I laid, lifeless, on the ground in front of him. The shape and exact color of the blood stain on my shirt. The sound of the gun as thug one pulled the trigger, and the slight pressure I'd felt on his chest before the vision ended. I remembered it all, even if I wanted to forget and act like it had never even happened.

All I wanted to do was curl up on my bed and cuddle with Mr. Puffer. And I wanted to let go of the tears I'd been holding in since Edward's fingers had brushed mine.

I listened hard for the sound of his footsteps behind me, relief flooding through me when I realized he wasn't following me. Maybe he understood that there was no chance I was telling him anything. My relief was short lived, though, when I heard him run up behind me. "Aha! I got it. I know why you freaked out when I touched you." I skidded to a stop and looked at him. There was no way he knew. It wasn't something he could just guess, right? Then why was my heart beating so hard, and my hand shaking so much?

"Oh yeah?" I asked. He nodded and grinned, his eyes sparkling. "And why's that?"

"Because," he murmured, stepping closer. I tucked my hands in my pockets and waited. "It made it hard for you to ignore your intense physical attraction to me." I stared at him in shock. When I realized he was completely serious, I doubled over and laughed until my sides hurt.

"Oops, you caught me!" I said sarcastically, laughing again. I thought he'd get pissed off. Hell, I'd _hoped _he'd get pissed off. Maybe then he'd leave me alone. But he just smiled and winked at me.

"Well, now you have to tell me what the real reason is." I stopped laughing immediately and looked at him, shaking my head. His smile widened. "Come on! We had an agreement that if I could make you smile, you'd tell me." I raised my eyebrow.

"And when did I agree to this?" He winked at me again and shrugged.

"It was unspoken." I snorted and continued walking, not surprised when he matched my pace again. "Please, Bella? Just tell me! The curiosity will be the death of me." When I still didn't say anything, he continued. "And if I die, you'll have to do all of those hard chemistry labs by yourself." I giggled despite the irony of him talking about his death, and saw the sides of his lips pull up out of the corner of my eye. "Why won't you tell me?" I sighed and stopped, turning to face him. I leaned back against the wall.

"It's not that I won't, Edward. It's that I can't." His eyebrows pulled low over his eyes in confusion, and I tried to think of a way to explain it to him without telling him what I saw. "You see, I have this . . . condition. But if I told you about it, not only would you not believe me, you'd probably think I was crazy and lock me up." He opened his mouth to speak but I held up my hand to cut him off. "I know what you're going to say. But trust me. You wouldn't believe me. Bye, Edward."

"Wait, where are you going?" he asked as I walked towards the door.

"Ditching," I replied before I pulled open the door and left the school. He didn't follow me, and I was relieved. I may have told him too much already, but I just wanted him to drop it. I was hoping he'd forget all about it by the next time I saw him. I sighed yet again.

My life went from livable to a mess in the matter of a class period.

It took me twice as long to walk home as it usually did, because there was so much shit going through my head. I was determined to not let the vision happen, but every time I promised myself it wouldn't, the question _'what if it does?'_ went through my head. I had no control over it, like it wasn't even my own thoughts. Instead, I tried to think about the new rumors that were sure to spread through the school about me. I'd had a major cow in chemistry class, and then disappeared for the rest of the day . . . if it hadn't been me, and if I had anyone to talk to, I would have been gossiping about it, too.

My day from hell got worse when I got home, and realized my mom hadn't left for work yet. She was in the kitchen, talking to someone on the phone. I leaned against the wall and listened to her side of the conversation.

"Yeah, I've been thinking about it!" she said. "I don't know. We don't get along all that well, but I don't know if I want to send her away . . . No, she didn't." I knew she was talking about me. I just knew it. My stomach twisted into knots, and it felt like my heart jumped into my throat. I may not like my mother, but I did _not _want to be sent away. To anywhere. "Let me think about this, Phil." _Phil? _Who's Phil? "Yeah, I have to go. I'm already late for work." I heard her put the phone on the receiver and the legs of her chair scraped across the linoleum of the kitchen floor. To keep from getting caught, I spun around and darted silently out the front door. I hid around the side of the house until her car pulled away.

After I made myself something to eat and sat on the couch, I let my brain wander again. Who the hell was Phil? And why was he trying to get my mom to send me away? Did she hate me enough to actually go through with it? Besides the whole 'condition' thing I had, I wasn't a trouble maker. I got A's and B's in school, never got into fights, didn't smoke, drink or do drugs. I took care of my cat and did my own laundry. Aside from the fact that I was a weird loner chick, I was actually better behaved than most people my age. So why would my mom even consider sending me away?

"Because you're not perfect," I whispered to myself. Then, I buried my face in a couch pillow and cried, hugging Mr. Puffer to me when he jumped up onto my lap.

For the rest of the day, I sulked around my house, searching for my missing glove. I found it in one of Mr. Puffer's favorite hiding places: buried under the litter in his litter box. I made a face as I shook it out as best as I could, but I realized quickly that I'd have to wash it.

"Damn it, Mr. Puffer," I said, shaking my fingers at him. He looked up at me, puffed himself up, and then fell over. I giggled and scratched his head. As I did the laundry, I started thinking about Edward. He was an okay guy, I supposed, and definitely not ugly. But every time I thought of him, I thought of the vision, and had to push the thoughts out of my head before I started hyperventilating. "This sucks," I muttered to myself. Now I was partnered in Chemistry with the guy who may very well be the death of me . . . literally.

* * *

**Chapter two! Already :D**

**I know I said I was going to post this before Monday, and I planned on posting it tomorrow night. But, turns out, I'm going out of town tonight to visit some family, and they don't have wifi at their house -hello, can you join this century, right? So here it is, a day earlier than I had originally intended. At least I'm keeping my promise :)**

**Thank you for reading, and I hope you liked it! R&R and all that fun stuff, because it makes me happy! **


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

**Welcome To Day Two of Hell**

I opened my locker and stared blankly into it, straining my ears to hear what people were saying about me. "I heard she threw her chair across the room!" someone whispered. "I heard she found out she was pregnant!" I hid my face behind my hair and laughed at that one. How would I find out I'm _pregnant _in _chemistry class_? What a joke. "I heard she freaked out because Edward rejected her." Now I had to bite my cheek so I didn't draw attention to myself. My sides hurt from trying to hold in my laughter. The people in this school were so stupid.

I shut my locker and walked towards my first period class, continuing to listen to people's whispering. "Hey, Bella," I heard from behind me a few minutes later. "Can I walk you home after school? There's something I need to talk to you about." I turned around and looked at Edward, sticking my lip out into a pout.

"No, I don't think I can handle that, Edward! The sting of your rejection is still too much!" I had to grit my teeth to hold in my giggles at his confused expression. He opened his mouth to say something but I cut him off, acting like a dramatic teenage girl. "You don't have to say anything. I understand. Just know that I tried." I pretended to choke up and patted him on the cheek (I was wearing my gloves) before I turned and walked away. As soon as my back was to Edward, I started snickering to myself, trying to think of ways to use these rumors to make him leave me alone.

I sat down at my desk in chemistry and put my head down on the table. I hadn't been able to sleep much last night. My dreams were poisoned with thoughts of my death vision and the idea of being sent away. I wasn't sure if she meant to a mental hospital or military school or a boarding school or what, but I didn't want to go to any of them. I'd been racking my brain all night trying to think of ways to prevent it.

"Are you ever going to tell me what that was about? Or are you going to mess with me again?" Edward asked, sitting across from me. I sighed and lifted my head to look at him.

"I wasn't messing with you yesterday. I really _can't tell you." _He rolled his eyes and looked at me meaningfully. "Yeah, whatever. But as for the whole 'sting of rejection' thing earlier, people are saying that the reason I freaked out yesterday is because I threw myself at you and you rejected me. I don't know about you, but I think it's the funniest thing I've ever heard." He raised his eyebrows at me as I laughed.

"And why are people saying that?" he asked and I shrugged. Then I got a sudden inspiration, and had to hold back my smile. If Edward thought hanging with me would make him a social outcast, wouldn't that make him want to leave me alone? It was worth a try. Maybe he was one of those people that thought being popular in high school would guarantee you a life of happiness and luxury for the rest of their lives. Again, people were so stupid it was insane.

"Well, I'm a freak. No one likes me. I have no friends whatsoever," I told him. I realized I was overdoing it just a little but I didn't care. "So, people spread rumors about me all the time."

"You're wrong," he said, smiling at me with his hypnotic green eyes. I raised one of my eyebrows at him. "You do have a friend . . ._ me." _He winked at me and I opened my mouth to make him to understand that _I didn't want to be his friend. _But the bell rang and Mr. Banner called the class to attention.

"All right, class. Today, you'll be finishing off your labs. Make sure you explain everything in your conclusion, including _all _the steps you took to get your results." Since Edward and I had more work to do than everyone else, we got started, but were soon interrupted when Mr. Banner stepped up to our table. The whole class got silent, listening to what he was about to say. "Bella, Edward, I don't usually do this, but if yesterday is any indication, you might not get much work done in this class. So, Edward, do you want to switch partners?" he asked, looking towards him. He met my eyes and smiled.

"No, I like the one I have now." I sneered at him as Banner turned to me.

"What about you, Bella?" I scanned the people in the room with my eyes. Tanya was staring hungrily at Edward, and everyone else was looking at me. After a quick evaluation, I realized that I disliked everyone else in the room just a little more than I disliked Edward. Maybe if I stuck with him as my partner, we'd be able to get work done without as much petty drama. I sighed and met Mr. Banner's eyes.

"No, I'm fine, thanks," I told him. I saw Edward's smile widen out of the corner of my eye. I sighed again as I realized that not asking for another partner was probably a backslide from making him not want to be my friend.

"Okay, then. But if you slack off or don't finish your work, I _will _separate you guys. Am I understood?" We both nodded and he spun on his heel and walked away. I turned back to the table and looked at my lab sheet without meeting Edward's eyes.

"So, you never answered my question. Can I walk you home after school today?" I measured out the chemicals we'd be working with while I pretended to consider it.

"No," I said after a few minutes.

"Why not?" he asked, and I could hear a smile in his voice. I answered a few questions on the lab report before I looked up at him. He was staring at me, his eyes gleaming in amusement. His eyes were actually very pretty. It was kind of annoying.

"Look, Edward, I know you want to know what happened yesterday. I completely understand that. But I can't explain it. It doesn't matter what you say or do. I can't tell you." He raised his eyebrow at me, his overconfidence in his ability to make me change my mind rearing its stupid head again.

"That's not what I want to talk to you about," he said and I tilted my head to the side. My hair spilled into my face and I reached up to tuck it behind my ear.

"Then why do you want to walk me home?" I wondered. He winked at me again and got to work on the lab. I helped, and even with the episode the day before, we finished before the majority of the class did. It made me slightly more comfortable with my decision not to switch partners.

"So, I'll meet you at your locker after school?" he asked as we gathered our stuff. It was about five minutes until the bell rang, and I was counting the seconds in my head. Edward was really starting to get on my nerves and I couldn't wait to get away from him so I could get a chance to think of a way to make him hate me. I was beginning to wonder if it was even possible.

"I'd really rather you didn't." He smiled at me. "But if you can find it, I guess you can walk me home." His expression turned a little unsure for a second. Then, Tanya walked up to us, sneering at me before she tapped Edward on the shoulder. I looked down at my lap and smiled. Tanya's unfounded hate towards me was my biggest source of amusement in high school.

"Hey, Edward. I'm Tanya, but everyone cool calls me T," she said, holding out her manicured hand. Edward looked at me, his eyes shining, before he shook it.

"Hey, Tanya. Nice to meet you. You know my friend Bella, right?" he asked. At first I had to hold back my giggles at his refusal to call her T, because he was pretty much admitting to her that he wasn't 'cool'. But once what he asked registered, I blanched at him. Was he trying to get my eyes clawed out by the pod squad? Maybe he really did want me dead. Tanya looked at me and her upper lip curled in disgust. I couldn't help it: I laughed.

"Yeah, we've met. Her locker is three away from mine." I choked on my laughter and glared at her. The bitch just gave Edward the information he needed without him even having to ask for it. Wasn't she supposed to be trying to keep him away from me, so she could get her claws into him?

"Oh yeah?" he asked, smiling wide at me. "Well, that's cool. Where _is _your locker, Tanya?"

The bell rang and I sprinted out of class, leaving Edward and Tanya sitting at our table. Damn it. I hated him. Why couldn't he just leave me the hell alone? Why did my life have to change just because there was a new guy who got some sort of sick pleasure out of torturing me? And why me? Why couldn't he want to walk Tanya home? She would be more than willing to spend the extra time with him.

The rest of the day went by faster than I wanted it to, and the last bell rang before I knew it. I ran to my locker and grabbed my stuff as fast as I could, hoping I could leave before Edward showed up to walk me home. But of course not. Lately I wasn't that lucky.

"Hey Edward!" I heard Tanya say. I looked up to see him walking towards me purposefully, his expression serious but his eyes shining with humor. My stomach jumped into my throat in nervousness. I definitely did not have a good feeling about whatever was going on in his weird mind.

"Come on, Bella!" he said as he walked up to me. His voice was loud enough to draw the attention of everyone near us in the hallway. "I know I'm the new guy. And I know you must have every guy after you. But just give me a chance. I know you said no in chemistry yesterday, but please go out with me!" I stared at him, my jaw almost touching my chest. I was so confused my head was spinning. But when my eyes scanned the faces in the hallway, I could already see the rumors about to fly. He was trying to not only disprove the rumors about him rejecting me, but also make my life more of a train wreck than it already was. Asshole. "So, how about it?" he asked when I didn't answer.

"Sorry, I can't," I said finally, meeting his eyes. He raised his eyebrows at me. I glared at him for a minute before I pushed passed him and hurried out the door. I could already hear people whispering about me and Edward. I was halfway down the block before he caught up to me.

"You said I could walk you home if I found your locker," he said as he fell into step beside me. I whirled around to face him and resisted the urge to kick him as hard as I could and run.

"What the hell, Edward?! Who do you think you are? Did you have to humiliate me in front of the entire school? What is it about me that makes you want to make my life a living hell?" I asked, stepping towards him until our chests were almost touching. I was so mad I could barely even think. And I was beginning to wonder why I'd stopped myself from kicking him. "Why me? I mean, Tanya likes you. Go fuck with her life. She likes being the center of attention. I don't. I'd rather be the fre-." My words cut off when Edward grabbed my arms and pulled me towards him. He leaned down to me and covered my mouth with his, and I was immediately sucked into the vision again.

Even though I'd already seen it, the vision of my death scared me just as must as it had the first time. I noticed new things this time, too. Like I could see that thug two had a gold tooth on the left side of his mouth and thug one had four rings on the hand that was holding the gun. I could see two rats fighting over a piece of moldy food under the dumpster and the logo on a box that was leaning against the wall. I could hear traffic in the distance, like we were only a half a block away from a busy street. I could feel a cold breeze brushing against Edward's arms and I noticed the goose bumps rising in response.

But all of these just made it seem more real.

I jerked my head away from Edward and stepped back, forcing him to let go of my arms. He was staring at me like he thought I was going to hit him. I almost did, but I suddenly felt like I was going to throw up, and my eyes were filling with tears again. I spun away from Edward and sprinted down the street blindly, not caring where I was going. All I knew was I had to get away. I had to be alone.

"Wait! Bella!" I heard Edward yell after me, his voice breathless from running. But I pushed myself harder. "Jeez, Bella, will you slow the fuck down?!"

"Leave me alone!" I yelled back at him. He must have heard me or fallen too far behind, because I suddenly couldn't hear him anymore. I kept running, keeping my head down so I didn't trip over anything. When I finally couldn't run anymore, I stopped and doubled over, holding my cramping sides. My chest felt tight, and my calves and lungs ached, unused to the speed I'd been moving at. I sat down on the sidewalk and buried my head in my hands, tears rolling down my face as I tried to catch my breath. Was I ever going to get used to that vision? Or would it continue to haunt me until it actually happened?

"Jeez, Bella, I didn't know you could run like that. But you need to listen to me-," Edward said, coming up behind me and plopping onto the curb by my side. I turned towards him without bothering to wipe my eyes. Maybe if he thought I was a pathetic crybaby he'd stop following me and let me get back to my semi normal, lonely existence. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you. But you wouldn't shut up." My vision turned red with anger and I balled my hands into fists. "But I still need to talk to you about something." I ignored him as I pulled my knees to my chest and rested my forehead against them. "About yesterday . . ."

"I'm not telling you anything." I heard him sigh.

"Come on, Bella. Every time I touch you, you run away. I think I deserve an explanation." I stood up and brushed the dirt and rocks off my jeans before I turned and looked down at him.

"Go to hell." I spun around and walked away. But of course he had to jump up and follow me.

"Bella, I-," he said. I cut him off without looking at him.

"Why won't you leave me the hell alone?" I asked. "Go stalk someone else." He laughed and again I had to hold myself back from punching him in the jaw. I had no idea why he found my anger so goddamn funny, but his arrogance was really grating on my nerves.

"You fascinate me," he replied. "I'm new here, so I need someone to amuse me."

"Lucky me," I said under my breath and he laughed again. "You know something fun you can do? Hang out with Tanya. She's even more interesting than me! And she's pretty," I told him. He snorted. "I'm sure you'll have a lot more fun with her than you would with me."

"Doubt it." I turned onto the block leading up to my house, Edward trailing after me. "Besides," he said after a couple of steps in silence. "She's like ... artificially pretty. Too much makeup and crap." I raised my eyebrow at him and he shrugged. "And you're prettier. Even without makeup," he said with a wink. I gritted my teeth together and looked forward, wishing that I was home and that Edward was somewhere else. Anywhere else.

"Bullshit, Edward." We walked up the walkway to my house and I couldn't wait to shut the door in his face. "And, you know, I'm sure Tanya will give you whatever you want. You won't even have to work for it. Me, on the other hand, you'd have to work for," I said.

"I like a challenge," he replied as I unlocked my front door. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the cold metal, my hand still around the doorknob. "And anything worth anything is worth working for."

"Well, I'm not worth it. Trust me." I twisted the doorknob and stepped into my house, but Edward put his palm on the door before I could close it.

"I'll be the judge of that. And I'm not giving up."

"Why not?!" I growled at him. "I _want _you to give up." He smiled and leaned towards me until I could feel his breath on my face.

"Well, I like you."

"Yeah? Well, I don't like _you_," I said, trying to force the door closed. He grinned wider, his eyes sparking with cockiness.

"We'll see." He moved his hand off the door and let me close it. I twisted the dead bolt before I pressed my back against it and slid down until I was sitting on the floor.

What the hell was I going to do? I had a feeling Edward wasn't going to leave me alone. And I knew that the more I begged him to, the more he'd bother me. Should I pretend I liked him so he'll get bored? Or would he take it the wrong way and think I actually _did _like him?

"Gah!" I shouted, throwing my hands in the air. "Boys are such a pain in the ass."

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**Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone :D **

**Hope you enjoyed chapter three. Read, review, etc. You know the drill :p **


	4. Chapter 4

**4**

**This Could Go One Of Two Ways … And Both Ways Suck**

I sat on the couch watching old movies and eating chips until my mom got home. With everything going on with Edward and the death vision, my already tenuous control of my sanity snapped. I decided to talk to my mom about her sending me away. And if it came to it, I was going to give her an ultimatum: let me stay, or I'll find somewhere else to go. But I was _not _going to be sent to some place where I was going to be treated like a mentally unstable criminal by people I didn't know. I got enough of that already from my mom and all the assholes at school. So, if I was leaving here -my home-, it was going to be under my own terms, and to a place that I'd chosen for myself . . . I wasn't exactly sure _where _I'd go yet, but I figured that I'd cross that bridge when it came to it.

About two hours after I got home, I heard the sound of the front door being unlocked and pushed open. I stood up and stretched my arms over my head, getting ready for an argument that might last all night. I got my fighting spirit and stubbornness from my mom, and when we fought, it could get pretty intense.

"Isabella?" she called from the kitchen. "Can you come in here please?" I took a deep breath and walked towards her voice, but skidded to a stop in the doorway. My mom was wearing her usual work clothes: a white blouse under a navy blue blazer, a matching pencil skirt, and to-die-for black velvet stilettos. She was still wearing her knee-length, navy blue trench coat and her fashionable black leather gloves, as well, which I figured would come in handy for me in the long run if things got as ugly as they had in the past. Her blonde hair was curled to frame her face. Everyone who saw her admitted she was beautiful. And I got most of my appearance from her, except for my super long, wavy brown hair and brown eyes, which I'd inherited from my father. I wished I'd gotten more from my father, but I'd take what I could get.

But what had made me freeze was the man standing behind her, his hands on her waist. He was tall, at least a foot taller than my mother's five foot seven frame, with thick, dark hair and brown eyes. His face was thin, his features nondescript, and his thin lips were pulled into a smile. He was wearing a dark blue pinstripe suit and his shoes shined like they were either brand new or polished regularly. He looked like a stuck up white-collar worker with a god complex, and I immediately distrusted and hated him.

I narrowed my eyes at him and crossed my arms over my chest, pissed off. This guy, this totally average, not-that-attractive guy, was the one trying to get my mom to send me away. I knew it was him. Seeing my glare, his expression changed until he was looking at me like someone might look at a little kid throwing a tantrum in public. He was looking at me like I was beneath him and unworthy to even be in his presence. The fucking douche. He didn't even know me.

Speaking of people I didn't know judging me?

"Isabella, this is Philip. He's the new vice president of the office," my mom said. I didn't take my eyes off of 'Philip' as my upper lip curled into a sneer. I could feel an angry flush working its way from my chest up to my face, and pooling in my cheeks.

"Awesome. Congrats, Phil. Now, why is he _here_?" I asked, finally looking at my mom. Her lips tightened into a thin white line and I saw Phil's arms pull her closer. Apparently my mom didn't appreciate my rudeness in front of her new vice president of whatever.

"Nice to meet you, Bella. I'm here because your mom has told me a lot about you. I wanted to finally meet the girl I've been hearing about." He smiled and I resisted the urge to make a gagging noise, knowing that would piss them off more than I already had. Instead, I just raised my eyebrows at him and smiled as sweetly as I could.

"It's _Isabella. _And oh really? Well then, it was nice to meet you. Thanks for stopping by." My harsh dismissal had my mom sucking in a breath and made Phil frown. It made him look even more unattractive that he already had been.

"Um, actually, Isabella," my mom started, giving me a look when she repeated my name. "He's here to talk to you about something. If you'll just listen . . . I think you might agree with us that it's for the best." Here it was. Even though I'd been meaning to talk to her about it anyway, the thought of doing it with Phil there, knowing he'd back-up my mother so it was two against one, made me think it wasn't such a good idea.

"You want to send me away?" I asked, though it sounded less like a question and more like a statement, looking at my mom again. Her jaw dropped; she hadn't known that I knew what she was planning. "Why? What did I do?" I hated how my voice cracked and traitor tears filled my eyes. Why couldn't I talk to my mom like an adult? Even to my ears it sounded like I was begging not to be sent away, when I honestly shouldn't have had to. I hadn't done anything wrong. So why was I being punished? Because Phil wanted me to be? Was she trying to prove something to him? It was so unfair.

"It's not anything you did, Isabella," my mom said, her voice unsympathetic. "It's just not working out here. We barely talk, I've been getting calls from your school -." I cut her off, my voice raising.

"That's a lie! You have not gotten a single call from my school! I haven't gotten in trouble, and my grades have never dropped beneath a B! The school has never had a reason to call you!" My mom dropped the pretense of the caring mother that she must have been trying to maintain in front of Phil. Her eyes narrowed and she spit her words through her teeth.

"Fine, Bella, I haven't gotten any calls from your school." She must not have liked being called a liar in front of her new boyfriend. Oh fucking well. She shouldn't _be _a liar then. "But I haven't ever met any of your friends. You don't talk to me before you leave for school. You ignore me when you get home. What else am I supposed to do?" she asked. "It feels like I live here with a ghost." I wanted to throw something at her for blaming this whole thing on me. She didn't try to talk to me either. And I didn't have any friends to bring over. But even if I did, I doubt I'd introduce them to the mother who hates my guts.

The tears welled up and spilled over as I struggled to gain control of my anger. "Mom, I'll change. I'll start talking to you more. I'll bring my friends over. I'll do anything. Just, please, don't send me away." I couldn't believe I was begging. But I no longer had control of the words coming out of my mouth. All I knew was that I _really _did not want to leave.

"The plans have already been made, Isabella. You leave in a week." I turned to the side and punched the wall as hard as I could. Ignoring the feeling of the skin on my knuckles ripping, I pulled my arm back and punched it again, this time hard enough to go straight through the drywall. White dust puffed out of the hole and coated my dark clothes, and I could feel it clumping in the blood gushing from my torn up knuckles. I pulled my hand back to look at it, barely registering the pain in my hand at all because the pain in my chest was too great.

After staring at my hand for a couple of seconds, I looked at my mom again. Her and Phil were looking at the new hole in the wall and the red stains around the rough edges, my mom with disgust and Phil with incredulity, like he just couldn't believe I'd do something like that. "Dad would never have kicked me out," I said in a monotone. "Dad would have tried talking to me about it instead. But you're too much of a coward." My mom's eyes filled with fire and I could see her jaw clench like she was gritting her teeth together.

"Phil, can you go wait in the other room so I can talk to Isabella alone?" she asked, making her voice sound like she was about to cry. Normally, I would have snorted and rolled my eyes at her ridiculous display, but I was doing everything in my power to make myself numb. Phil pressed his lips against her cheek and disappeared into the hallway, but I kept my eyes on my mom. She was walking towards me, her expression livid, and I knew what was going to happen. Just like I'd expected, when she was within reach, she lifted her arm and smacked me across the face, hard. My ears rang from the blow and my cheek stung like it was on fire, but I refused to look away from her or cry like I wanted to. "How dare you mention your father and insult me in front of Phil!" she spit at me.

I figured it was too late anyway. Her mind was already made up and nothing I said would change it. So I decided to see just how pissed off I could make her with her boyfriend in the next room. I reached up and swiped my hand across my face, looking at my mom disgustedly. "Thanks for spitting on me," I said and she narrowed her eyes again.

"Listen here, you little witch," she said. But I cut her off before she could say anything. I stepped closer so my face was inches away from her, and I was surprised to find that I was only about an inch or so shorter. I used to have to tilt my head back to look into her eyes. How long had it been since I was this close to her?

"No, you listen, _Renee,_" I said, calling her by her name. She made an angry sound in her throat and tried to hit me again, but I caught her wrist before she could. "When dad died, you stopped being my mother. Instead, you turned into this raging _bitch_ that I don't even want to look at, let alone speak or listen to. So get the fuck out of my face before I finally do what I've wanted to do for years now," I said menacingly.

"And what's that?" she asked, clenching the hand that I was still holding into a fist.

"Hit you back," I replied and she looked like she was about to explode. Before she could, I threw her arm away from me. She lost her balance and stumbled into the wall, and I walked towards the front door. I just needed to leave. I needed space and room to breathe. As I passed Phil in the hallway, I said, "Bye, Phil. It was really nice meeting you." Then, I raised my voice so my mom would hear me in the other room. "And, by the way, I'm sure you could do much better." I heard an outraged hiss from the kitchen and smiled as I walked out and slammed the door behind me.

I walked around for hours without any destination in mind. All I knew was that I couldn't go home. I didn't have a home anymore. My mom and Phil were making sure of that.

As I walked down the street, I tried to imagine where it was they wanted to send me. I've heard of kids being sent to juvenile jail for breaking the law, but I hadn't done anything illegal. Could they be sending me to one anyway? Or maybe a military boot camp? Would my life go from walking for exercise to pushups and sit-ups and jumping jacks and running? I couldn't run a mile without stopping –I'd been forced to try in gym class and almost felt like dying. I tried to imagine having to wake up early in the morning and having to crawl through mud and shower with a bunch of other girls who are most likely bigger than me. And suddenly I wanted to cry again.

"Daddy, I miss you," I whispered into the air. It hurt more than ever when I didn't hear an answer.

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**Sorry about the wait! The holiday season is always crazy. **

**Hope you liked it! See you next chapter!**


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